“The risk in the U.S. of getting any cancer of the head and neck is well under one in 10,000,” says Gene Liu, MD, MMM, President, Chair, Department of Surgery; Chief, Division of Otolaryngology, Cedars-Sinai Medical Group.

Dr. Liu adds, “The risk of getting throat cancer is even lower, perhaps closer to one in 100,000. That risk is even lower in a 25 year old, which is a lot younger than the average patient with throat cancer.

“Smokers are anywhere from 5-25 times more likely to get head and neck cancer depending on other risk factors and how much and how long they’ve been smoking.

Freepik.com, drobotdean

“Tobacco chewing is more likely to result in cancer of the mouth, lips and gums than the throat,” though chewing tobacco is still a risk factor.

Risk Factors Other than Smoking

• Heavy drinking
• Poor nutrition
• GERD
• HPV infection

Symptoms in the above list also have very numerous benign causes, even when several of those symptoms are occurring together.

In fact, seven of those symptoms are caused by acid reflux making contact with the larynx.

Several are caused by TMJ disorder and sinusitis. If we look at just two concurrent symptoms, this dramatically raises the number of benign possibilities – such as anxiety and underactive thyroid.

Persistent symptoms always should be evaluated by a doctor, but if you’re 25 and have any of the symptoms above, chances are pretty high that it’s a benign condition rather than throat cancer.

Dr. Liu’s clinical areas of focus cover a broad range including surgery of the head and neck, sinuses and thyroid, and disorders of the ears, salivary glands and vocal cords.

Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.

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Top image: Shutterstock/Mykola Samoilenko

Sourcescancercenter.com/throat-cancer/symptoms/mdanderson.org/cancer-types/throat-cancer.htmlcancercenter.com/throat-cancer/risk-factors/tab/laryngeal-cancer-risk-factors/ so if you’re 25, you probably do not have throat cancer.